Unlike relatively planar or angular-shaped walls for building structures, curvilinear-shaped walls such as radiused or serpentine walls, soffits or curtain walls are generally more difficult to construct. Mispositioning of a single vertically oriented stud may disrupt the smooth curvilinear continuity of the flex board or dry wall seated against the studs. Accordingly, preformed upper and/or lower framing tracks for curvilinear walls are often employed which mount to the respective ceiling and/or floor to facilitate proper spacing and positioning of the vertically oriented studs frames along the curvilinear path.
As shown in FIG. 1, an upper frame track 10 is adapted to mount to the ceiling structure (not shown). Once the frame track is properly mounted to the ceiling structure, a plurality of downwardly depending vertical studs 11 may be mounted thereto with fasteners 12. The flex board or flexible dry wall (not shown) is then supportively positioned atop the vertical studs.
Frame tracks 10 typically include a substantially planar web member 13 having opposed, curvilinear side edges 15, 15' which are usually parallel to one another. These curvilinear side edges 15, 15' are usually fabricated to substantially conform to the desired curvature of the radiused wall. Depending downwardly (or depending upwardly for a lower frame track) from the curvilinear side edges 15, 15', respectively, are opposed leg members 16 and 16', which are formed to provide vertical mounting support for the studs. The leg members 16, 16' are then collectively fastened to the web member in an edge-to edge manner through a plurality of tack welds 17.
One problem associated with these frame track arrangements is that they often require customized, prefabricated construction and assembly. Due to the curved nature of the components, precision on-site fabrication is difficult to achieve. For example, the web member 13 and the opposed leg members 16, 16' are typically composed of ten (10) to twenty (20) gauge steel. For example, each leg member 16, 16' must be manually manipulated to substantially conform to the curvature of a respective curvilinear side edge 15, 15' of the web member 13, and then be positioned edge-to-edge at about a 90.degree. angle with the web member. As mentioned, the leg members are subsequently fastened to the respective curvilinear side edge 15, 15' through multiple spaced-apart tack welds 17. Difficulties thus occur during fabrication when attempting to align and weld a respective curved edge 18, 18' of the respective leg member 16, 16' with the respective curved side edge 15, 15' of the web member 13. Such alignment and securement is often laborious, substantially escalating fabrication costs and lengthening fabrication times, which are typically on the order of about two to four weeks.
Another problem associated with these designs is that the support strength of vertical studs 11 may be constrained by the collective load bearing strength of the tack welds 17 affixing the leg members 16, 16' to the web member 13. This is especially problemsome for radiused soffits or curtain walls which are essentially suspended from the ceiling. Since the vertical studs 11 are often fastened directly to the leg members through bolt fasteners 12, as shown in FIG. 1, substantial vertical loads may ultimately impact the load bearing integrity of the tack welds. Hence, there is an ongoing need for an improved assembly and method for attaching a curved wall to an independent supporting structure.